The has committed a £1,000 emergency donation to support , one of Turkey’s longest-running LGBTQ+ rights organisations, after eight people connected to the group spent more than a month in prison without conviction.
Speaking exclusively to Attitude, Umut Güner, general coordinator of KAOS GL, said the organisation remains focused on securing the freedom of detained colleagues while continuing its advocacy work under increasingly difficult circumstances.
Founded in 1994, KAOS GL works across human rights advocacy, legal monitoring, journalism and community support. The organisation has become one of the groups most heavily affected by Turkey’s recent crackdown on LGBTQ+ civil society.
Eight people remain imprisoned
According to Güner, four members of the organisation’s Board of Directors, three members of its Board of Auditors and journalist Tekerek were arrested as part of the government’s “My Family Is Safe” operation.
While four people arrested in Mersin have since been released, courts have ruled that those detained in Ankara, İzmir, İstanbul and Aydın should remain in prison.
As a result, seven activists and Tekerek have now spent more than a month behind bars without conviction.
“The prosecutor still has not prepared the indictment setting out what our friends are being accused of,” said Güner.
He added: “The offence our board members are alleged to have committed does not carry a prison sentence, even if the offence were proven and had actually been committed. They are currently being held hostage in prison.”
Concerns over prison conditions
KAOS GL has also raised concerns about conditions inside prison, particularly for LGBTQ+ detainees.
In a recent update shared with , the organisation said it remains “deeply concerned about prison conditions, particularly regarding access to healthcare, medication and safe living conditions for trans prisoners and people living with HIV.”
According to Güner, LGBTQ+ prisoners are sometimes subjected to sexually transmitted infection testing without consent and may be isolated while awaiting results.
One detained board member, trans man Umut Derin, is reportedly still being held in a single cell.
Supporting those affected
The arrests have created significant financial pressures for the organisation, which continues to support detained colleagues through prison allowances, legal assistance and regular prison visits.
The £1,000 emergency donation from the Attitude Foundation will help support those efforts at a time when the detention of senior board members has also disrupted the organisation’s ability to access and administer some international funding.
Despite the challenges, Güner says the organisation’s work continues. “KAOS GL Magazine, which has been published for 32 years, continues to be published, and the kaosgl2.org news portal continues to publish news daily,” he said.
The group’s focus is now its “We Want Freedom” campaign, which is calling for the release of those still imprisoned.
KAOS GL works to support the LGBTQ+ community in Turkey
“We are putting all our energy into stopping this attack on the rights of LGBTI+ people in Türkiye and working so that our detained friends can regain their freedom and struggle alongside us again.”
For Güner, the message is clear: “LGBTI+ rights in Türkiye have had to cope with the government’s repressive harassment since almost 2015.”
As supporters continue campaigning for the release of those detained, KAOS GL says it remains determined to continue its work despite growing pressure on LGBTQ+ organisations across Turkey.